Thurston Howell III
| Thurston Howell III | |
|---|---|
| Gilligan's Island character | |
 |
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| First appearance | "Marooned" Gilligan's Island (pilot, 1963) |
| Last appearance | "Gilligan's Army" Gilligan's Planet (1982) |
| Created by | Sherwood Schwartz |
| Portrayed by | Jim Backus |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Mr. Howell |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Millionaire |
| Spouse(s) | Eunice "Lovey" Howell |
Thurston Howell III (mentioned in the opening credits as: "The Millionaire") is a character on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island, which ran from 1964 to 1967, and later in syndication.
Howell, portrayed by veteran character actor Jim Backus, is so wealthy that he took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and several changes of clothing with him for what was intended to be only a three-hour boat tour in Hawaii, one of the sillier premises of the show. Speaking with a Locust Valley lockjaw accent, Howell is a stereotypical member of the New England Yankee elite — a resident of Newport, Rhode Island, a graduate of Harvard University and a Republican. He is a member of the Union League Club where he has a "window seat". His wife, Lovey, portrayed by Natalie Schafer, is conscious of social strata, yet seems to be a good-hearted woman with a deep sense of noblesse oblige, allowing her to interact with the other passengers and crew, though they are all her social inferiors. One of the implied humorous points of the show is that Thurston continually fails to realize that all of the Howells' money is essentially useless to them on the island. On the other hand, the other castaways apparently tolerate the fact that he refuses to do any work. One exception is when an egocentric Hollywood producer (played by Phil Silvers) "visited" the island and the Howells had to wait on him as butler and maid in order to be rescued. One of the most unusual aspects of his character is that, even though he is married, he sleeps with a teddy bear that he calls "Teddy". The Howells, as was common practice on American sitcoms of the mid-1960s, slept in twin beds. Thurston Howell III was the basis of a character in the television sitcom Dusty's Trail which was based on Gilligan's Island.
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